Jennifer Matthews: For most women, cooking isn't exactly a privilege, but for Christine O'Neal, having allergic asthma prevented her from doing much of anything.
Christine O'Neal: I was wheelchair-bound for awhile -- didn't even have enough air to even go shopping,
Jennifer Matthews: Drugs didn't work and being in the ICU five different times prompted a constant fear inside
Christine O'Neal: Dying, yeah.
Jennifer Matthews: But then Christine tried Xolair. Unlike other meds, it's injected and doesn't just control asthma's symptoms. It actually shuts off the allergic reaction before it starts, attacking what's called the IgE antibody.
David Lang: As a physician, it can be very frustrating to care for patients with difficult-to-control asthma, so when we have a medication available that can improve outcomes such as this, it's very exciting.
Jennifer Matthews: Studies show Xolair greatly improves patients' symptoms after six months of use. Christine noticed big improvements after just three.
David Lang: It's not a cure but nonetheless it can result in a major improvement in symptoms particularly in one's quality of life.
Jennifer Matthews: Christine went from being in and out of the hospital to enjoying the outdoors with her son.
Christine O'Neal: Oh, it's great. It's night and day. I've got my life back. I'd be pretty scared to find out where I'd be right now without it.
Jennifer Matthews: Now, she won't ever have to. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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